Soggy Shower Room Saga

[bassetlawbadger]

Righto - any ideas on this one before I go mad!

About a year ago I noticed that my shower cubicle was leaking. So I took it out and also removed the old tiles on both the floor and the wall. I re-tiled, grouted, got someone in to skim the walls, waited a couple of weeks and then painted the walls, got someone in to remove and refit the shower and finally got someone in the fit the new shower cubicle. Job done???

About two months after I noticed paint blistering on the interior (hall) wall directly outside the bathroom, which is bordered by three interior walls, with a bathroom directly above too. A couple of weeks after this, one of the other walls started to do the same. As they seemed to be blistering directly opposite where the shower is, I figured my tiling must have been dodgy and proceeded to remove the newly fitted shower. I took out all the grout in the tiles and slung a de-humidifier in there for good measure which proceeded to take out a good couple of litres of water a day.

Fast forward four months, and the bubble patches are now proper bare patches on the walls about two feet sqaure apiece, in places plaster has even come off. I have got to the point where the dehumidifier says the moisture level is 'normal', but if I switch it off for a couple of days it then takes another week to get back to the same level.

I have removed the grout on the walls (took FOREVER), and have re-grouted and also used silly ammounts of sealant to ensure the cubicle is as watertight as possible, but the floor tiles seemed to be cracking and when I replaced a couple of tiles I noticed that the adhesive (from Focus DIY) was still wet and presumed that this wasn't helping matters too. Am now in good mind to lift floor but this looks even harder than tackling the walls......

However - the room still smells damp! Where can this be coming from? The waste from the bathroom upstairs comes via this room, but I assume that if this was leaking I would smell it??

The house is around 100 years old, but the room is in a later extension which I think must be around 40 years old, making one of the bathroom walls the old exterior wall. Could this be a factor?

I've had a couple of builders round, who just basically scratched their heads and offered no solution. Anybody any ideas?

[royaloakcarpentry]

haven't a clue why builders would not offer you a solution, especially as they have been there.

Solution is simple enough and it needs to take the form of a 'trace and access', which is something we do all the time. This is something which must be done, as your problem may not be from the shower but the bathroom above.

No comment on the Focus tile adhesive, apart from it is useless.